


Little Things

by I May Age Regress (shnuffeluv)



Series: Gibbs' Family [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Age Play, Gen, Gibbs Needs to Chill, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Misuse of I Love Lucy reruns, Non-Sexual Age Play, Not Beta Read, Thumb-sucking, Tony Needs a Hug, You don't use them as background noise so much as entertainment, but anyway, platonic kink, shhh that's totally a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 06:04:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7302484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/I%20May%20Age%20Regress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Gibbs' discovery in <em>Gibbs' Family</em> is expounded on, or I wrote instead of sleeping. Can be read as a stand alone, can be read with Gibbs' Family in mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Things

Gibbs wanted to hate DiNozzo. Really, there was nothing he wanted more. He may have wanted the man to join NCIS, but that didn't mean he had to like training the probie. No matter how much he tried, however, he couldn't bring himself to dislike the man. There was something about him that just made it impossible. Despite all of the movie references, inappropriate comments, and general chatter, Gibbs couldn't bring himself to hate the guy.

 

Ironically, that made him want to hate DiNozzo more.

Gibbs came in to work that morning to find the man already at his desk typing something or other on the computer. Gibbs walked over to him. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

DiNozzo looked up. "Trying to find a lead on the case, boss," he replied. "There's something I'm missing, I just don't know what."

"Next time, probie," Gibbs had whispered. "Go home. No use staying up all night and falling asleep at your desk."

He walked to his own desk and got to work, ignoring DiNozzo's eyes boring into his head. Soon they left him and returned to his computer. Gibbs glanced up. Sure enough, Tony was doing that thing with his thumb again, tracing it around and around his lips slowly. He didn't understand what that was about, but Tony suddenly snapped to attention, his thumb pausing in its tracing. Gibbs looked back to his own computer as DiNozzo looked around, but 10 seconds later, his inspection done, Tony was tracing his lips again. It hit Gibbs suddenly. Tony had a habit of sucking his thumb, or at the very least, he had one as a kid. And he was most likely mocked or punished for it prolonging, hence the behavior he saw today. He remembered when Kelly was young enough to suck her thumb on a regular basis; there was one time when Gibbs held both her hands away from her and she just started sucking on  _his_ free thumb. The thought made him almost smile. Almost. He stood up and DiNozzo jumped. "Where to, boss?"

Gibbs didn't break his stride. "The interrogation room. The wife did something, we just need to know what."

The man nodded and made to follow, but Gibbs turned to him. "Just me. I don't need you there."

He ignored the slight hint of hurt on DiNozzo's face as he nodded. "I'll just. Fill out paperwork then. Right?"

Gibbs nodded and walked off. He could talk to DiNozzo about unsanitary habits later. Right now, he needed to find a murderer.

* * *

Things continued on in this manner for a week. Gibbs meant to talk to DiNozzo about something or other but cases always took priority. It took that week for Gibbs to realize that really, he could have confronted the man at any time, and he just wanted to save the man embarrassment. He didn't know why he wanted to, but he had a gut feeling he would regret it, so he trusted his gut and dropped the matter, letting Tony trace his lips all he wanted, so long as he didn't actually suck his thumb in house.

DiNozzo knew something was off, though, he wasn't as unobservant as most. Gibbs would never have referred him if he were. But Gibbs kept up his hostile front, "poorly" disguising his general disapproval, and made it just seem like he was having second thoughts. DiNozzo worked harder to prove himself, and Gibbs enjoyed the fast results. But this just revealed another problem to Gibbs, when he said, "DiNozzo, I need the file on the Richards case."

The man jumped in his seat and quickly pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk, rummaging through it and upturning items like pencils, paper clips and...that looked suspiciously like a baby blanket.

DiNozzo turned red as it hit the floor, put it back in the drawer and slammed the offending object into the desk just shy of breaking it. "Wrong drawer," he half-heartedly muttered to Gibbs, opening the one above it.

Gibbs never moved his head to show he had seen anything out of the ordinary, or had looked over, for that matter. "Well, then, open the right one and find me that file," Gibbs snapped.

DiNozzo flinched but brought the file over. Gibbs flipped through it, nodding. Just like he had suspected. "It was his SO. Seems like they disagreed over who actually loved his wife."

"Should I make an arrest, boss?" DiNozzo asked. His voice was strained. Interesting.

"I'll do it, you pick up all the junk that came out of your desk," Gibbs said, nodding to the mess.

"On it, boss," DiNozzo said, dashing over to his desk and picking everything up.

Gibbs was walking out when he heard DiNozzo call after him. "Boss!"

Gibbs turned around. "Yeah, DiNozzo?"

"Look, whatever you might have seen in my desk..."

"I don't care what you do in your free time, DiNozzo, as long as it stays in your free time," Gibbs called as he walked to the elevator. "If it doesn't, you'll have to answer to me."

Gibbs entered the elevator, and, when he was sure he was alone, let out a sigh. Clearly whatever was up with DiNozzo couldn't stay separate from work forever without some kind of intervention in place. Gibbs wished he didn't have to be the one to stage said intervention, but he couldn't tell anyone else to do it, right now he just had a team of 3, and Viv wouldn't like it. The elevator doors opened and Gibbs walked out. He wouldn't do anything yet. He didn't need to, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

He just hoped this would go away on its own.

* * *

DiNozzo knew that Gibbs knew. Gibbs couldn't say how, but there was a certain apprehension always present in his eyes that Gibbs recognized, that he had seen in many agents before when their cover had been blown.

Gibbs didn't say anything. Neither did DiNozzo. If it wasn't case-related, it wasn't said. This continued for days, which stretched into weeks. And DiNozzo just looked more and more afraid as time passed, until he was jumping at every noise, and his eyes darted to every corner like they held some sort of adversary. And Gibbs decided enough was enough. DiNozzo looked around, locked his computer, and got up to go use the restroom, and Gibbs followed. As soon as Gibbs was in the bathroom, he made sure no one would get in by locking the door. DiNozzo jumped as the lock clicked and whirled around, reaching for his gun. Gibbs shoved him against the wall. "Wha--?!"

"Can it, DiNozzo, and tell me what's going on!" Gibbs growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," DiNozzo grunted.

Gibbs pushed against the other man's chest and scowled. "You know full well what I'm talking about. Ever since that blanket fell out of your desk you've been jumping at every move someone makes, and I can't take you out in the field if I don't know you have my 6. Frankly, I'm not sure you  _ever_ had it, and you certainly don't now. So tell me what's going on, or you're through."

Tony choked and then, to Gibbs' surprise, started to shake. At first Gibbs thought the man might be having a seizure, and took a step back to give him space, but when he didn't fall over, Gibbs realized Tony was holding back tears. It was his turn to be speechless. Tony looked up, his eyes glassy, and gave Gibbs a dead-eyed stare. "Do you know what it was like for me, growing up? My dad was almost never around, my mother died when I was young. I never...never really learned proper ways to cope. So I uh, I uh, formed a way on my own, and it, uh, turns out it's not that uncommon, as far as neglected kids' coping mechanisms go..." he laughed. "It's...called...age regression. I, uh, I pretend that I'm a kid again, only...I get raised right. I didn't tell you because, well, wh-who would let me on their team if they found out?! Right?! Who would want the kid on their team?! I'd be the laughing stalk of NCIS!" Tony clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "Please, please don't tell anyone, boss. I'd do anything,  _anything_ , if it meant you would keep this a secret."

Gibbs frowned. So many thoughts were flying through his head.  _This_ was what DiNozzo was hiding from him all this time? This little thing...was eating him up inside slowly? This was destroying the man who should have his 6? Something needed to be done about this. "Okay."

Tony looked at Gibbs, but didn't understand what he was saying. "Wh...what?"

"Okay," Gibbs repeated, nodding. "It's your business, and if this doesn't hurt your job, then I won't do anything to share it."

Tony nodded and blinked repeatedly, letting his tears fall so he could swipe them away. "Now...I really have to go pee..."

"Yeah," Gibbs said, going to the door and unlocking it. "Oh, and DiNozzo." He knew Tony looked up without turning around. "If you ever need some place besides your apartment when this...thing happens, I have a spare bedroom, and my door doesn't have a lock."

Nothing else needed to be said, so Gibbs left the bathroom, not expecting that he would be taken up on the offer. Surely DiNozzo had someone else he could go to when he needed it.

* * *

Gibbs was at a loss when there was a knock at his door later that week. DiNozzo had shot and killed a suspect in the line of duty that day, and had seemed pretty shaken up about it, despite it not being the first time something like that had happened. When he opened the door, Tony was on the other side, thumb in his mouth and his blanket clutched in his free hand, forming a fist. He looked at Gibbs as if to say,  _You said I could come over_.

"Come in, Di--Tony." Gibbs didn't feel right calling this part of DiNozzo, DiNozzo. Tony seemed much more fitting, more personal. Right in a way he couldn't describe. He stepped out of the way. "I was just thinking about watching some TV. You can watch with me?"

That was a lie, Gibbs didn't watch TV regularly unless working on his boat with it on in the background counted. But Tony came in and sat on the couch in Gibbs' living room anyway. He fiddled with his blanket in his lap and made a pained face. Gibbs came in and sat next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right," he said quietly. "It's all right."

Tony smoothed out the blanket and nodded uncertainly. Gibbs picked up his remote and turned on the TV. All that was on was old reruns of  _I Love Lucy_ , but Gibbs wasn't looking for anything in particular, and this would work just as well for background noise. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Tony leaned into his side, but he was quick to reassure the boy. "Hey, Tony, it's okay, you just startled me."

Tony looked uncertain, so Gibbs positioned himself closer to Tony, and draped his arms on the top of the couch, so Tony couldn't remove circulation in them. The boy uncertainly scooted closer to Gibbs, and leaned into his side like one might back away from a bomb. Gibbs draped his arm around Tony and rubbed a thumb over the boy's shoulder, attention focused more on his thoughts than the boy or the TV. Tony didn't move, and neither did Gibbs. But the late hour, an adrenaline filled day, and the TV droning on in the background meant both were asleep within the hour.

* * *

The next morning, Gibbs was roused to the sound of someone munching on cereal. He opened his eyes and turned his head to his left, where DiNozzo was sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal. "Morning, boss. Hope you don't mind I made myself at home. I made some for you too," he said, nodding at the coffee table.

Gibbs took the cereal and started eating. Was he supposed to say something about last night? It wasn't like when he slept with someone, that was for sure. But the feeling he felt last night...he felt like a father again, even though he was watching TV, and barely even doing that. He ate his cereal and took the untouched bowl on the table, putting it in the sink and heading upstairs. "You should go get ready for work. You need to be there in an hour," he told DiNozzo.

The man nodded. "You got it, boss."

Gibbs watched the man grab his things and he was almost out the door when Gibbs knew what he had to say. "The offer still stands, DiNozzo."

DiNozzo turned around, and Gibbs could have sworn he saw a little bit of Tony in that smile he received. "Thanks, boss. I'll keep it in mind."

Gibbs nodded, and DiNozzo left. Grudgingly, Gibbs admitted that he didn't want to hate DiNozzo anymore. Rather, it seemed to be the opposite. All he wanted to do was make sure that both man and boy were okay. Not that he was going to complain about how he felt. But it was important to note for future cases.

Nevermind that he had felt like this could be something he enjoyed.


End file.
